Bunge Launches Innovative REDD Project in Brazilian Amazon

12 June 2012

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Bunge Limited BG +1.03% today announced it is participating in a project that will avoid approximately 30 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and generate carbon credits through the preservation of 70,000 hectares of native forest in the Amazon biome. The project, developed through a partnership between Bunge Environmental Markets and Florestal Santa Maria, is one of the first to generate tradable carbon credits on private land under the principle of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

"This unique project is a clear demonstration that sustainable forest management and payment for environmental services (PSA) can be an economically attractive, long-term option for private landowners," said Alfred Evans, Manager, Bunge Environmental Markets and CEO, Climate Change Capital. "We are pleased that it will commence shortly after the RIO+20 summit, which is bringing needed focus to the development of environmental markets."